BAY CITY, MI — A 24-year-old Bay City man prosecutors say drunkenly struck a stranger’s baby has been given the keys to the jail, in the words of his sentencing judge.

Bay County Chief District Judge Timothy J. Kelly on Tuesday, Dec. 3, sentenced Daniel P. O’Shea to one year of probation and 31 days of jail, with credit for one day already served. Kelly held the remaining 30 days in abeyance in case O’Shea violates his probation.

Kelly said by doing this, he was essentially giving O’Shea the keys to his own incarceration, meaning if he complies with his probation, he won’t be jailed, but if he fails, he’s opening the door for further punishment.

The judge also ordered O’Shea to complete a 12-week substance abuse counseling program, to partake in anger management counseling and to attend an Impact Weekend, designed to counsel alcohol abusers. O’Shea must also submit to two random alcohol tests per week for the next 30 days and then two per month for the duration of his probation.

Kelly also ordered O’Shea to pay $605 in court fines and costs.

O’Shea in October pleaded no contest to being drunk and disorderly, a 90-day misdemeanor. In exchange, prosecutors dismissed a 93-misdemeanor charge of assault and battery. A no contest plea is not an admission of guilt but is treated as such for the purposes of sentencing.

The charges stemmed from an incident that happened about 10:40 p.m. on July 4, the first night of the 2013 Bay City Fireworks Festival. Bay City police responded to the area of East Midland and North Linn streets after a person called 911 to report witnessing a man strike a baby being held by her father, court records show.

After police returned O’Shea to the scene, the mother of the infant identified him as the assailant, police reports show.

The mother of the infant told police that she was walking west on Midland Street with a group of people, including her husband, who held their daughter. O’Shea was with a group walking the opposite direction, she said.

“As the guy was walking, he turned around and with his left hand grabbed ahold of my child’s head,” the woman told police, according to their reports. “He pulled on my child like she was a football and he was trying to strip her out of my husband’s hands.”

The child’s father was able to hold onto her and she was not injured, police reports show.

As O’Shea and his friends continued walking, the mom asked him why he hit her baby.

“I was walking towards him at this time and he turned around and was going to come at me,” the mother continued telling police. “His buddies grabbed him and stopped him. They were saying they were sorry for him and were trying to get him to leave. They apologized for him several times.”

At the sentencing hearing, O’Shea’s attorney, Kevin J. Rieman, said he interviewed several witnesses which dispute what was initially related to police.

“They confirm Mr. O’Shea’s perspective, which is that it was an absolutely accidental contact, if there was contact, and he immediately expressed confusion and apologized if he had done anything wrong,” Rieman said. “He does not have a malicious bone in his body.”

Kelly asked the defendant if there was anything he wanted to say.

“Just that I express apology and remorse for anything I did to offend the family on that evening,” he said. “I just want to let them know that I’m sorry, sincerely.”

Bay County Assistant Prosecutor Margaret Leaming said that O’Shea’s blood alcohol level registered 0.16 at the time of his contact with police. A person is legally intoxicated in Michigan when their blood alcohol level is at 0.08.

“It’s my belief that he acted out of character, based on the letters of reference I read,” Leaming said. “I don’t think this would have happened if he had been sober.”

No one from the victim’s family was present at the hearing.

Leaming said that the family specifically requested O’Shea receive substance abuse treatment and anger management counseling. She added that, according to the baby’s mother, the child continues suffering anxiety since the incident.

Just prior to imposing sentence, Kelly chastised O’Shea for his actions.

“There are just some people who should not drink,” Kelly said, making reference to O’Shea having two prior brushes with the law linked to drinking. “Looking at this incident, there are references here to all the good will Mr. O’Shea has in the community, but that can all be lost with one bad night.

“In my view, this is one of the most idiotic situations I’ve seen,” he continued. “That doesn’t mean you can’t learn from it. My hope is that this is something you’ve thought long and hard about.”